€150,000 top-up for hospital chiefs

Almost €150,000 in cancer charity donations has instead been given to senior hospital chiefs already receiving six-figure publicly-funded salaries.

The latest top-ups scandal is detailed in files provided to the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee, which show the situation occurred at St Luke’s cancer hospital in Dublin for close to a decade.

Between 2003 and 2010, two former chief executives — Lorcan Birthistle (2003 to 2006) and Ann Broekhoven (2007 to 2010) — were given extra payments out of a charity donations pot.